Hi all
I was looking through LOTS of baby signing websites to gather free tips on how to start signing with babies... I ended up making a GREAT but LONG list and thought I'd share it with you
NOTE: NONE OF THE FOLLOWING IS MY WORDS, THEY ARE TAKEN FROM VARIOUS WEBSITES AND INTENDED FOR PERSONAL USE WHICH IS WHY I DIDN'T BOTHER WITH REFERENCES ...
How To Begin Signing With Your Baby
- Start signing when your baby is 6-8 months old and holds your gaze for a few seconds at a time.
- Start with 3-5 SignsNeed Based: Most parents choose a sign that involves eating, such as milk, eat, drink, or more. These types of signs are more need-based and will allow your child to request things he or she may need. Other examples of need-based signs are change (diaper), hot/cold, help, and bed/sleep.
Highly Motivating: You can also choose a few signs that may be really exciting to your child. For example, have you noticed that your baby is fascinated by that ceiling fan in the living room? Or perhaps you’ve observed him watching (with an air of extreme excitement) the family dog bound around the front room. Two other very popular choices are Mommy and Daddy.
- Use the signs frequently and consistently When you nurse or give your baby a bottle, say "Do you want some milk?" and sign "milk." Then, dialog about the milk and make the sign as your baby eats: "We're having milk. Milk is so good!" Repetition is the key to success in signing with babies. Use the sign(s) before and during the activity
- make eye contactWhen you want to communicate, look at your child and make eye contact. Make the sign directly in your baby's line of sight so your baby can see your eyes, the sign, and your mouth.
- emphasizing the word you are signing. For example, you might say, "Do you want some MORE bananas?"
- verbal and nonverbal means to get your baby's attention before making a sign. You can verbally ask you baby to look at you or you can lightly touch, tap or rub your baby. In addition, you can move an object of interest such as a toy towards you to draw your baby's attention. You can also sign between your baby and the object of interest insuring that the sign is in your baby's line of sight.
- Point to or hold the object In the beginning it is important to give your baby a visual picture of the word and sign that you are teaching. This can either be the real object, a toy that represents the real object or a picture of the object. You want for you baby to see the sign, hear the word and also see the object that represents the word. Remember to include all visual forms of the word such as a real cat, a toy cat and a picture of a cat. If you only sign cat and say the word cat when you read a book about cats your baby may conclude that the sign and word for cat refers only to pictures of cats.
- Wait for your baby to respond You are likely to have spent a great deal of time carrying on two sides of a conversation with your preverbal baby. It is important that you now allow enough time for your baby to respond. You can begin by asking questions and waiting at least 20 seconds, looking attentively and expectantly at your baby, before answering with both the word and the sign. This will give your baby the clue that you are now inviting her into your conversation.
- Make signs on your baby's body It is also helpful for a baby to feel a sign. Some signs that are good candidates for this are: bath, cat and dog. You can simply use your hands to make the same movements on your baby's body as you would on your own. You may want to have your baby in your lap when you make signs on your baby's body to make it easier for you to make the sign correctly.
- Help your baby make the sign Sometimes it is helpful to show your baby how to make a sign by gently guiding her hands. This is called hand over hand signing. Please only do this if you baby enjoys the help.
- Ask for your baby to sign You can encourage your baby to sign with you by asking her to "show me with your hands" while at the same time gently tapping her hands. You can also play a game where a favorite toy is placed out of reach and then you make the sign and bring the toy to your baby. You can then place the toy out of reach and ask your baby to make the sign. Always help your baby by making the sign for her if she has not made the sign within a short period of time or if she becomes frustrated.
- Always sign the correct sign Babies are not likely to reproduce any given sign perfectly when they first begin to sign in just the same way that babies do not always pronounce words correctly once they begin to speak. However, you should continue to offer the correct sign. It is likely that your baby believes that she is making the same hand movements as you are even if she is not. If you change your sign to match your baby's sign then she is likely to become confused as to the correct sign to use.
- Share books with your baby You can select books that include your baby's favorite objects and then offer her the sign whenever you say the word for the object. Watch your baby's eyes to see the images that she is most attracted to in the book, comment on the image, offer the sign for the image and then allow time for her to respond.
- Recognize and respond to your baby's signs Whenever your baby asks for something with a sign you should immediately reward her by fulfilling her request. If for some reason you cannot give her what she is asking for then make sure that you reward your baby in some other way and make it clear to her that you understand what she asked for.
Likewise, every time you believe that your baby is attempting to sign to you, you should reward her for her attempts. If you are not sure of the sign that she is making then you can ask her with words and signs to help you to understand better. For example, "Are you making the sign for 'shoes' or are you making the sign for 'socks'?" Remember to present the words and signs at the same time
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Expect your child to recognize a sign that you are making well before he starts using it on his own. Recognizing words and signs is called having receptive language and being able to form words and signs is called expressive language. You can expect your child to go through the former before going through the latter, both in sign as well as spoken word.
- Signs that have a similar hand shape will often start out the same … that is, your baby may be making the same sign for several words. One that I noticed was “ball” … “more” … “hurt” … they all are two-handed signs where the hands are brought together. Your challenge will be to figure out what your baby is trying to tell you … just use context. If you’re feeding your child, he might want more, but if he’s playing, he might want his ball.
- When your child first starts signing, she may use one sign for everything. Just like children will use one word (like “mama”) for many things, so too will children use one sign for many things. This is a good thing! This means that she has realized that the gestures do indeed stand for something and they can be used to get it. Instead of becoming flustered because your baby seems to be signing meaninglessly, be happy that she’s “getting it.” Continue showing her other signs, remain consistent, and she’ll eventually begin to use the proper sign in the proper context.
- Be Patient If your baby is 6 - 9 months old, it may take a few months or more for your baby to make the first sign. If your baby is older, you could see results sooner. Just remember that babies recognize the signs long before they can make them. Your baby may show her anticipation when you sign "milk" by grunting or panting. Look for these signs, and keep signing!
- Look for Signs Most first signs don't look exactly right since babies adapt signs to their physical abilities. As fine motor skills develop, signs will also develop (very similar to the pattern in speech development). That is one of the fun things about Signing Time - you can see children of all different abilities making signs.
Encourage any attempts your baby makes to communicate with praise and positive reinforcement. If you think it is a sign, say: "Oh, you're signing milk. Do you want some milk?" Continue to make the signs correctly and your baby will learn to make the sign correctly.
- Add Signs As your baby learns signs and begins to sign back, start adding other signs like "shoes" and "bath." Build your signing vocabulary by continuing to use the signs you already know as you add new ones.
- As your baby begins to sign one sign at a time, start signing two-sign combinations like "more ball."
- Make it fun! Enjoy the deep sense of connection you feel when you begin to have two-way conversations with your baby.
- Think of physical activities that are common for you and your baby: swinging, bouncing a ball, lifting baby up, and playing with a favorite toy are great examples. Use these activities to sign words like “more”, “up”, “again”, “where?” and “stop.” For example, when take your baby to the park (or outside) and blow bubbles - stop blowing, and sign the word “more” as you ask, “more bubbles?”. This is also a great opportunity to teach the signs for “big” and “pop”. (And "stop"!)
- Be open to suggestion. Sometimes a baby will create a sign for herself. Feel free to continue using it, and applaud her creativity. You can also easily adapt a made-up sign to a more formal sign (such as ASL) just as you would encourage her with proper speech. Acknowledge your child when she uses her invented sign and model back with the ASL version. She will soon “correct” herself.
- Be expressive. Use your face and body in addition to your hands. You should also always say the word as you sign it. Alter the tone of your voice depending on the context. Make it sound fun and interesting.
- Be varied. Not as in the sign of course, but as in the places you sign. Don’t just sign at home, for example, or when company’s around, or when you’re not in the public eye. Signing with your baby works best when it’s worked into your life as a natural means of communicaton instead of something you only do part of the time or only in certain places.
Here's another thread I did with free online resources and dictionaries for signs:
http://forum.brillkids.com/teaching-your-child-signing-speaking-foreign-languages/free-online-signing-dictionaries-!/new/#new
Happy signing!
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